So, after the next elections, we will have, for example, not just Sachin Pilot in the Lok Sabha but also his mother Rama and wife Sara, both elected easily from reserved constituencies.

In a recent discussion on Headlines Today, a fiery lady who has been aggressively pushing the bill for long, admitted that initially only wives etc of politicians would get elected. That was fine by her, she said, because she hoped that things would change over time and lead to real empowerment of women, like it had happened at the panchayat level in some states.

Is that really going to happen? The Parliament is not a lowly panchayat where the stakes are small. It is big business. Have we not already witnessed how, thanks to virtually no restrictions placed by law, our politicians have managed to increasingly ensure the concentration of political power in the hands of a few political dynasties?

Had Swatantryaveer Savarkar been the first Prime Minister of this country, the problems faced by the country due to Gandhi family would not have been created. The brood of terrorists and anti-national Muslims would have been eliminated. Savarakar would have crushed enemy attacks. The above views were expressed by Shri. Durgesh Parulkar, a profound scholar of life history of Swa. Savarkar.

Savarkar would have immediately executed traitors. He would have trained youth in weaponry and trained them to protect our country. The national anthem would have been ‘Vande Mataram’instead of ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and he would have made even Muslims and Christians sing the same.

"If Obama wanted to address the Muslims of the world, Cairo was the wrong place from which to seek to do so. There was a time when Egypt was seen as the beacon of the Arab world. It is no longer so. Al Qaeda and pro-Al Qaeda organizations project Egypt and its leaders as apostate. President Hosni Mubarak is a very unpopular Arab leader .Obama going to Cairo to deliver the address is seen by large sections of pro-Al Qaeda and pro-Taliban leaders as a leader of the American infidels traveling to the country of apostates to deliver an address to the Muslims from a platform provided by the apostates. " -- B Raman

This post has been a long time coming. It was triggered by an article on Sanjeev’s blog lambasting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Being familiar with Sanjeev’s writing and his capacity for research and analysis, I was looking for something thought-provoking.

This post is an attempt at responding to some of the criticisms levelled by Sanjeev against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Today is the Jayanti (birthday) of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was a true Dharmaveer, who did not bow before Aurangzeb though Aurangzeb brutally tortured him for more than 40 days. Hindus must learn how to sacrifice for Dharma from Sambhaji Maharaj. He was a scholar of Sanskrit language. He single handedly fought with massive army of Aurangzeb for 9 years. He kept Aurangzeb in Maharashtra for 27 years, which finally resulted in foundation of Hindu emperors in North India. Sambhaji Maharaj also fought against the Portuguese in Goa, as they were doing conversions of Hindus and demolishing Hindu Temples in Goa.

IT is on this day—the Jyes-htha Shukla Triodashi of 1674—named Anandanama Samvat that Shivaji was coronated. The grand function took place atop the 5,000-ft high Raigadh fort in Maharashtra. He became thereafter a full-fledged chhatrapati—a Hindu emperor in his own right.

In Maharashtra, the day is celebrated as Shiva Rajyarohana Utsav—the day Shivaji was coronated. However, the RSS celebrates it as the Hindu Samrajya Dinotsav. The reason for this is simple. Shivaji himself, as a teenager, had taken the pledge to establish Hindavi swaraj and not his own kingdom. He had also declared that it was the will of God that the move should succeed. On his royal seal, he had declared that this auspicious raja mudra of Shivaji, the son of Shahji, would grow like the moon on the first day of Shukla Paksha and be venerated by the entire world.

Evidence of the all-Hindu character of the function came in abundance even at the time of the coronation. Jayaram, a gifted teenaged poet, came all the way from Tamil Nadu to pay his poetic tributes to Shivaji. Gaga Bhatta, a Vedic scholar of great repute, arrived from Kashi and prepared a new scriptural text to install Shivaji as a sovereign Hindu king. Waters from the seven sacred rivers of the country were brought for his holy bath.

To begin with, India is far more globalised and cosmopolitan than at any point since independence. There is a greater inclination to look outwards and imbibe lifestyle shifts. These have corresponded to a demographic shift, resulting in a younger India.

Secondly, growth of global Islamist terror has made Indians far more appreciative of the need to insulate India from sectarian strife.

Finally, unlike the shambolic 1990s, there is a sense of self-confidence among Indians and a belief that their country can face the world on its own terms.

Hindutva is only a fraction of what the BJP stands for. Its larger image is, however, dominated by it, not least because the party gets exceptionally agitated only on issues of religious identity.

Its natural attraction as a party that shuns dynasty and is partial to deregulation and enterprise is offset by its old-fashioned cultural face.

Enlightened nationalism, good governance and modernity must become the party's priorities.

New research shows there are ten key ingredients found in popular curries such as Madras, which have been linked to health benefits in conditions as diverse as lung cancer, heart disease, asthma, constipation, dementia, period pain, osteoarthritis and even loss of libido.

Obviously this issue did not get the attention it deserves, The Times of India seems to have given the item a miss. The intellectuals, who never seem to miss a literary or historical parallel or pun for "Hindu fascist" related news have not commented on it either.

Meanwhile, closer to home:

Haj gets dearer

They are not the only ones, Chindu reports that soon after the election result annoucement, AP Chief Minister YSR left on a pilgrimage to Israel.